Wednesday, December 21, 2016

R thinks....

It is not often that R thinks about world affairs. He asked me the other day, how is Israel so rich when it all looks like desert? Off the top of my head, I replied, technology, arms and Jewish money coming from the US. These were only guesses on my part. It is a good question and a chance to learn.

Alas, it proved very difficult to research as there is so much biased reporting by those who either support Israel or hate Israel. What did seem reliable was quite technical and not suitable for a lightweight blog post. It does seem I wasn't far wrong with what I replied to R off the top of my head though.

What is undeniable is that Israel is, with only a couple of faltering steps, an amazing economic success story, coming in about sixth in world in income levels. There are many qualifications that can be put on this figure, including it being only second to the US with inequitable wealth distribution and having a large black market within its economy.

Not sure I will ever visit Israel and I would probably only go to Tel Aviv, a very western city on the Mediterranean coast.

Coming up through the ages, the Jewish people have always been blamed for the death of Jesus although technically he was a jew. Their money making abilities always came in handy when high or low needed money and 'can't pay it back' then it was all the Jews fault and they were thrown out of the country.Read about the Rothschild money and how it help England defeat Bonaparte.

My son has a travel agency in Tel Aviv with excellent English speaking guides and drivers. Being British born with Australian parents, he is really looking forward to a 10-day tour in October 1917, the 100th anniversary of the ANZACs' light horse charge in Beersheba.

Naftali Tours will only give me a free espresso and Danish pastry for each Australian and New Zealander who does one of the tours :) No spotter's fee!

My public diary, not my private one. I live in a highrise apartment building in inner Melbourne. My interests are varied but top of the list are old buildings, history and public transport. You will find plenty of personal experiences to read in my blog too. Just be aware I am not an historian, amateur or otherwise. While I make some effort to be accurate, I don't do proper methodical research so I advise you check all details on your own behalf should you wish to quote me. Your comments are very welcome, but try to be nice to my fragile yet overblown ego. I enjoy receiving email. You can find my eddress in my complete profile.